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SAN RAFAEL'S SUN POWER AND GEOTHERMAL ENERGY JOINS WITH MT. TAM RACQUET CLUB TO PIONEER LANDMARK SOLAR ENERGY INSTALLATION ON THE WEST COAST

Sun Power's Turnkey Services Cut Energy Costs for Residential and Commercial Users by Transforming Sunlight Into Electricity

San Rafael, Calif. (April 20, 2002) In a fitting tribute to Earth Day, Sun Power and Geothermal Energy of San Rafael, and its client, the Mt. Tam Racquet Club in Larkspur, announced plans today to kick off construction of one of the largest private solar power installations on the West Coast.

The solar installation will use photovoltaic (PV) arrays to transform sunlight into electricity and reduce the Racquet Club&Mac226;s dependence on the electric power grid. Sun Power and Geothermal Energy is an integrated energy solutions pioneer that looks at a whole facility for energy efficiencies, focusing on solar as a clean power source.

Sun Power&Mac226;s $1.35 million building-integrated installation for the 51,000 sq. ft. Mt. Tam Racquet Club will provide a 150 kilowatt solar photovoltaic (PV) system, large enough to cover most of the club&Mac226;s electrical needs. The system will cut the club&Mac226;s current annual electric bill from $60,000 to $5,000 or less using solar energy.

Sun Power and Geothermal Energy will mount the PV panels directly to the roof of the Mt. Tam Racquet Club, which faces south and has a 14-degree slope, perfect for orienting them. The large roof has expansion joints in it, and Sun Power engineered special floating connectivity systems to match the expansion joints.

Sun Power and Geothermal Energy is in the vanguard of developing the way large solar installations are being built, and has designed cost-effective and functional technology to seamlessly integrate solar energy into large commercial buildings.

Thanks in part to new technology made available in the past two to three years, solar energy has morphed into a viable energy alternative. Sun Power uses proprietary in-house systems to design and build solar power systems, and also provides turnkey services for both business and residential users.

The 150 kilowatt per hour system will convert sunlight directly into 290,000 kilowatt/hours per year of electricity for the Racquet Club. The system will produce enough electricity during a peak summer month to supply 50 average homes.

Mt. Tam Racquet Club&Mac226;s system will automatically send the extra electricity it generates during sunny months to the public utility grid, which can use it on those hot summer days when the energy demand for air conditioning is high.

Net Metering and Rebates Offered to Customers
The electricity sent to the grid will be credited back to the Racquet Club, which can draw upon the credit during darker days of the year, when it may need to supplement the energy created by the solar array. This arrangement with the utility is called "net metering."

Sun Power and Geothermal Energy will also help Mt. Tam Racquet Club take advantage of California's very aggressive paydown system and tax credits for solar energy producers. The California Energy Commission rebates roughly 50% of the cost of each solar installation back to the producer. As part of its financial services, Sun Power and Geothermal Energy provides detailed information outlining paydowns and state and federal tax credits, and offers a detailed analysis of depreciation futures.

"Sun Power and Geothermal Energy together with the Mt. Tam Racquet Club are pioneering the financially viable use of solar power for residences and typical commercial buildings," said Dan Thompson, founder and president of Sun Power. "The solar array also has the benefit of saving energy that would otherwise have to be provided by the grid. Mt. Tam will be a model for homes and businesses, using a combination of our planning methods and new technology to produce clean and sustainable power."

Mt. Tam Racquet Club Always a Leader in Energy Conservation
The Mt. Tam Racquet Club, a sports and fitness facility, features 13 tennis courts including six indoor courts; an indoor Olympic-size swimming pool and a 20-yard long outdoor pool; basketball court; weight training room; and studios for aerobics, cardio exercise machines, yoga and massage. The club also has a bar and restaurant and a day
care center.

Mt. Tam has high electricity and lighting demands for heating the pools and heating and lighting the tennis courts and all other areas. The club currently uses its on-site gas- powered co-generation plant to heat the swimming pools.

The building-integrated Sun Power PV array will not only provide almost all the electrical needs for the club and offer freedom from the utility, but will also replace the club's obsolete co-generation plant, eliminating the plant&Mac226;s emissions and maintenance.

Photovoltaic Panels Create Energy from the Sun
Sun Power and Geothermal Energy's clean solar energy source is an array of photovoltaic panels. The PV panels are made of purified silicon, similar to that used for computer chips, which generate direct current (DC) when struck by sunlight. The PV panels are passive in nature, work all the time during daylight, have no moving parts and produce no emissions. Photovoltaic panels have a useful lifetime of more than 40 years. The manufacturer warranties them against degradation for 25 years.

Electricity generated by the solar array is sent to an inverter, which both converts the DC into the much safer alternating current (AC) for use in a home or commercial building, and also sends the excess electricity out to the utility grid.

Sun Power and Geothermal Developing the Way Solar is Deployed
As part of its turnkey service, Sun Power and Geothermal Energy first created a complete profile of Mt. Tam Racquet Club&Mac226;s total energy needs. Sun Power assessed the facility's average and peak electricity usage, and made projections for future electricity use growth. This snapshot of the club&Mac226;s energy use also included a detailed analysis of the solar PV installation&Mac226;s depreciation futures.

In the analysis process, Sun Power identified areas where general efficiencies could be applied to the facility to save energy. They proposed a lighting retrofit, to replace all lights with high-efficiency, low consumption fluorescent lighting. Timers were added to water heating systems for pools and Jacuzzis to keep the water warm automatically during the hours of use, not during nighttime hours when the club is closed.

Then Sun Power and Geothermal Energy proposed a solar system to cover the revised energy needs. Sun Power also has expertise in lighting and electric motor control. Sun Power's in-house mechanical and chemical engineer, Rick Nuessle, designed the installation. Construction and seismic engineering was done by a subcontractor. The system was completely architected by Sun Power.

Sun Power and Geothermal Energy will assemble 1,190 individual PV panels into an array and mount it on the roof. All the physical infrastructure for the system will be installed by Sun Power. Sun Power's in-house electricians will wire the system together, install the inverter and meter and connect them to the array and to the utility power grid. Sun Power also processes all construction permits.

"We invent a solution for each installation," said Dan Thompson, Sun Power's founder, who has spent 20 years in the electrical contracting industry, most recently as a project manager. "Our combination solution gives the client the best value. Our engineering and financial resources work within our client&Mac226;s business standards. These are big financial propositions, and we structure each project financially for the way that works best for them.‰

New Technology, Agreements Make Solar Power Viable for Home and Business
The critical component of the commercial feasibility of the solar array that Sun Power is installing at the Mt. Tam Racquet Club is the inverter and net metering system. This is a combination of new technology and agreements recently made between the State of California&Mac226;s Public Utilities Commission and the local utilities.

Inverter technology changes the power generated by a solar PV array into useful electricity for the facility it's mounted on, and also sends excess power out to the grid. The electric meter on the building literally runs backwards during peak sunlight hours.

The excess power is credited to the producer by the utility in an agreement called "net metering." This means that, instead of storing excess electricity on-site in costly, space-consuming and high-maintenance batteries, the grid absorbs the excess.

The utility keeps a record of the electricity it accepts from a solar array, and credits it to the producer. When the producer needs more electricity than it is generating with its solar panels, for instance during winter&Mac226;s short, dark days, it can draw upon that credit without having to pay for the electricity it consumes from the grid.

About Sun Power and Geothermal Energy
Sun Power and Geothermal Energy is a turnkey solar energy installer formed to respond to the overwhelming demand for alternative energy sources. Sun Power and Geothermal Energy offers a full range of energy consulting, design, project construction and installation services.

These include:
· Assess and analyze current energy needs and usage patterns of a facility · Calculate future energy needs
· Design of energy-efficient systems using solar photovoltaics
· Design an energy reduction solution incorporating efficient lighting, lighting controls, motor soft start and optimization
· Design systems that provide extra energy for the grid, taking advantage of net metering to neutralize or eliminate electric utility expenses
· Completely architect a solar system including seismic and mechanical engineering · Provide financial services and equipment and construction alternatives
· Provide expertise on state and local rebate programs for sustainable energy
· Project management
· Build the solar array and connect it to the facility and the grid using expert electricians
· Provide a 5-year construction warranty

The equipment Sun Power uses is made by top international manufacturers. The photovoltaic panels are the highest PTC test-rated, and have a manufacturer's 25-year energy-production warranty. Systems installations are modular, and are designed by and performed under the supervision of Dan Thompson, founder and owner of Sun Power. Mr. Thompson has over 20 years of experience in the electrical industry, and holds a California General Contractor B license, and a C-10 Electrical Contractor license. Sun Power provides a five-year installation warranty as required by the California Energy Commissions rebate procedures.

About Solar Depot
In business for over 20 years, Solar Depot is a wholesale distributor of solar thermal and solar electric power systems. Solar Depot has designed and supplied thousands of solar systems for various applications. Customers include the U.S. military, the federal government, NASA, municipal utilities, the states of California, Nevada, Oregon and Washington and private sector companies. Solar Depot is the largest distributor of BP Solar products in the U.S.

About BP Solar
A full service company, BP Solar designs, manufactures and markets a wide range of crystalline silicon and new generation thin film solar electric products and systems, that are well suited for residential, commercial, and industrial applications for remote and grid-connected systems. BP Solar is a BP Group Company.

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